Mad Science Is The Best Science: Our 14 Favorite Crackpot Geniuses

Break out the death rays and clone armies!

By David Wharton | Updated 9 months ago

Philo (UHF)
Perhaps one of the most obscure entries on this list, Philo (Anthony Geary) spends his days lurking around the halls of Channel 62 conducting mysterious experiments, instructing viewers how to create plutonium from common household items, and electrocuting Weird Al Yankovic.

Philo’s mad antics might not be as infamous as his competition, but I think he earns extra points because his entire purpose seems to be centered on helping mild-mannered daydreamer George Newman (Yankovic) succeed in turning a failing UHF station into the envy of the big-name networks. Moreover, he’s not even human — he traveled to our world from god-knows-where, just to help save Channel 62. That’s his entire thing. After they humiliate the head of a rival network, he declares his mission to our world to be complete, transmogrifies into a multi-eyed beast, and beams back into the cosmos while nobody notices. That shit’s inexplicable, bro.